Things Will Look Better In The Morning
by Hyperteenager24
Summary: During some down-time on a jungled planet, Peter and Rhydian are separated from the rest of the Ravagers, and must learn to survive on their own... and quickly! 2nd in Guardians of the Galaxy series
1. Chapter 1

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

Rhydian and Peter grunted and panted as they ran through the thick jungle grass, leaping over fallen tree and sliding through mud (or at least, they hoped it was mud).

They couldn't be caught.

Leaping over crevices and vaulting over rocks, the pair rolled and jumped to try and keep one step ahead of their pursuer.

From behind them, they could hear the one sound nobody really wanted to hear, causing them to increase their speed in a desperate bid for freedom.

As the sound got closer, the pair spotted a large tree and clambered up it, choosing to leap from branch to branch… until the last branch they landed on, cracked and broke away from the main tree.

Despite there being no injuries, Rhydian and Peter struggled to get to their feet… which proved to be a deadly mistake. Before they could start running again, there was a sudden, sharp pressure on the back of Rhydian's neck, and a blaster at Peter's.

"Bang…. Ye two are now dead."

Sheathing his blaster and arrow, Yondu cuffed the children around the back of their heads.

"Pathetic."

Peter frowned at this, "If that branch hadn't of broken, we would totally have made it!"

"But you didn't, and now yer both dead. If you don't learn to escape all proper like, then ye can kiss yer pretty faces good- PETER! Stop scratching yer head."

"But it itches!"

A couple of weeks ago, Peter had gone through a painful injection in order to have a universal translator chip implanted within him…. Peter hadn't stopped crying for hours afterwards.

As the trio walked back towards the ship, Rhydian tugged on his Father's coat and then gestured to the trees.

"Hmmmm…. Trees are an alright idea. More cover, but yer more likely to get injured…. As you two realise by now."

"We just picked the wrong tree!" exclaimed Peter.

"It was a dead tree brat!"

"Well how were we meant to know it was a dead tree?!"

"Didn't ye see the vines all around it?! Any tree with creepers like that, is either dead or close to it. These are things ye gotta know."

Peter rolled his eyes, chuckling as Rhydian made blah, blah, blah motions with his hand. "Yeah…" Peter grinned, "… but if that branch hadn't of broke, we would have made it!"

Yondu stopped in his tracks at this, pinching the bridge of his nose in between his eyes and sighed. "I know ye weren't born a pirate, but can't ye act like one?"

"Rhydian was born a pirate, and he got caught as well!"

Shaking his head, Yondu sighed. "Rhydian… Rhydian weren't born a pirate kid… far from it."

…..Flashback…..

"I hate this place…" Kraglin muttered under his breath, shuffling closer towards Yondu as he glared at approaching slavers, "… some of these kids can't be any older than fifteen!"

Yondu, who was trying to force his own memories back, nodded. "I know… but we gotta contract to uphold. Rare emeralds, for ten thousand units…. We'll just have to deal with it."

Kraglin clearly wasn't happy about this, but chose to remain silent… until he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't want to leave Yondu's side…. Not after the last time they visited this damned planet.

And then he caught the movement again. This time, it appeared as though it was a small child.

Grabbing Yondu's sleeve, and ignoring the other man's protests, Kraglin raced over to where he had seen the child. As they rounded a corner, running into an alleyway, they heard a low growling noise.

"Over here…" whispered Kraglin, edging towards a dumpster.

"No way! So you can get killed by some wild animal?!"

"Ssssshhhh… it's not an animal."

Overwhelmed by curiosity, Yondu went to stand by his first mate, only to frown in concern. Huddled by the side of the dumpster, was a small toddler.

The child was dressed in a ragged tunic, an electronic collar beeping around his neck as it clutched a small loaf of bread. Covered in dirt, with cracked fingernails, shaggy long brown hair and yellowing teeth (what few he had), the child growled at them once again.

"Fuckin' hell…" Yondu hissed, watching as the toddler shuffled away from them and began tearing large chunks of bread away from the main loaf, shoving them into his mouth as he kept distrustful eyes on the two Ravager's, "… he's a &&**()&."

Recognising the clicks and whistles for what they were, Kraglin's eyes widened in shock. "I thought that planet specialised in Assassins…. Not slave trade."

"That's only one side of their… business. The other side is sex slaves. Unless yer rich, ye either become a sex toy or an Assassin… looks like this brat's parents made that choice for 'im."

Kraglin winced at this.

Due to his own experiences, Yondu had a burning hatred for any parents who would do that to a child, often believing that if a parent was struggling, they should give their child to someone trusted, not a slaver.

"What are we going to do?" asked the first mate, "We can't leave him here."

"Do ye wanna pick him up?"

Glancing back at the growling child, Kraglin winced. "Not really… d ye have any strong gloves?"

"None that would keep those teeth from scarring yer pretty skin."

"The slow approach it is."

In disbelief, Yondu watched as his first mate crouched low to the ground and held out a hand, plastering a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey…" whispered the first mate, "… we're not gonna hurt ye… we can give ye more food if ye want?"

The child just glared at him, holding his obviously stolen bread close to his chest.

"Please… what's yer name?"

The child held up five fingers, relaxing slightly.

"Five? Yer name is five?"

The child nodded, before tearing off another chunk of bread and shoving it in his mouth. In dismay, Kraglin turned to Yondu, "He don't have a real name?"

Yondu shrugged, "He's a slave… who gives a slave a name. Maybe when he got old enough to be… used, his owner would have given him a name. Somethin' pretty."

"That's disgustin'!"

"That's the life of a slave."

The child continued to watch them suspiciously, frowning as he watched the first mate shake his head.

Sighing, Kraglin tried not to think too much about the child's future and shuffled closer, resisting the urge to smile when the child only tilted his head in curiosity.

"Ye look really cold..." Kraglin whispered, shrugging off his poncho, "… yer legs are turnin' blue."

Slowly, he scooped the child up in the poncho and wrapped him up, flinching slightly as the child began growling again. "It's okay, everything's okay."

The toddler was clearly not convinced, as he started to furiously wriggle in Kraglin's arms. Simply tightening his grip, Kraglin turned to his Captain. "What should we do? We can't take him to his owner, right?"

"If he's out here, scrounging for scraps like this, then he's probably not got an owner…. Not anymore."

"Ye mean… he was just thrown away?"

"Or escaped. So, someone might be looking for him."

As they headed back out into the streets, Yondu covered the toddler's face with the rest of the poncho, narrowly avoiding being bitten. "Keep that there until ye get back to the ship. If anyone is lookin' for him, then I don' want ye bein' grabbed along with him."

Kraglin resisted the urge to smile at his Captain's concern, knowing that Yondu would only try to brush it off as not wanting to train another first mate. "Where are ye goin'?"

"I'm gonna uphold the contract. I ain't losing that many units because of some growlin' brat."

Before Kraglin could reply, Yondu stormed off in the opposite direction. As he and the child walked back to the ship, Kraglin glanced down at the growling bundle. "What do I call ye I wonder…" he mused, "… 'cause I ain't callin' ye Five. That ain't happenin'."

He thought to himself for a few more moments, "How about… Rhydian?"

****End Flashback****

Looking back at the memory, Yondu couldn't help but smile.

Yes, he'd been annoyed when he'd found out that Kraglin had named the brat, therefore showing that he'd grown attached, but after a few weeks of trying to get the toddler settled in, Yondu realised that having a child around wasn't the worst thing in the world.

As they entered the clearing where the ship was parked, Yondu watched as the two children ran towards Kraglin, leaping at him as Peter babbled eagerly.

Silently, Yondu watched as his first mate nodded along with what they were saying, smiling as the pair started to act it out.

"Alright, alright!" Kraglin laughed, "I think cook has your dinner ready… and possibly some cake?"

The pair whooped at this, and sped into the ship, pushing each other in the side as they fought to be first onboard. Once they were out of earshot, Kraglin walked over to Yondu, frowning at the weary look on his Captain's face.

"How did they do?" he asked.

"… I caught them. They got a little bit further, but they're still falling short."

Kraglin frowned at the tone of Yondu's voice, "They are only six or seven… very few children know how to live in the wild and escape captivity."

"Maybe more should know." Yondu sighed, his eyes focusing on an unseen point, probably remembering his own experiences at that age… there were probably many unsuccessful attempts to escape back then.

"Maybe then, there'll be more freedom."


	2. Chapter 2

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

A few hours after their training exercise, Yondu made the decision to take his small family to a small clearing, where alien species of all shapes and sizes gathered, all willing to refrain from fighting in order to take advantage of the cool water.

"Now remember…" Kraglin directed, keeping a hold of Rhydian and Peter, "… no fightin', only playin'."

"We got it Kraglin!"

"And remember Peter, some people have never seen a Terran before, so behave and try and act more Xandarian."

Peter rolled his eyes, nodding as he tried to wriggle free, "Yeah, yeah! Now let us go!"

As Kraglin let them go, the pair raced towards the water, seemingly oblivious to the stares and whispers they received.

"This is gonna go well…" muttered Yondu, as he watched the two children dodge and weave through the crowd, "…. Remind me why I'm doing this?"

"Because ye don't wanna deal with them all afternoon."

"Oh yeah."

As Peter chattered eagerly to Rhydian, Yondu could hear the music from the boy's headphones… and so could everyone else as they stared at the child.

"Boy!" Yondu called out, resisting the urge to grin when the pair twisted around to face him, "What have I told ye about that music?!"

Peter scowled, turning the music down until it could no longer be heard, before turning his attention back to Rhydian.

"Don't give me that attitude boy! It ain't too late to eat 'cha!"

Before Peter could answer, there were the warning shrieks of birds flying above a nearby hill. As a figure appeared on the hill, Yondu could practically feel his face go pale.

"Peter. Rhydian…" he hissed, "… get behind me now!"

The children were quick to obey, hurrying over to the two Ravagers.

"Stay by my side." Ordered Yondu, his voice tense as he kept his eyes on the figure.

Whilst the sun had hidden the figure's defining features, once they made their way to the water, it was clear that the figure was a Kree… a big one.

As the Kree took a sip of the water, Peter and Rhydian (both peeking out from behind Yondu) noticed the dark markings that lined the skin, burns scaring his face…. And the huge Warhammer attached to his side.

"So many people come here…" sighed the Kree, his voice deep and rumbling, "… so many stories to catch up on. So many families now extended…"

Everyone backed away and scattered when the Kree began to prowl,

"But…." Sighed the Kree, his eyes seeming to focus on Yondu, "… I couldn't help but hear the rumours. They couldn't be true of course… no-one here would dare bring a Terran or a &&**()& here…. Let alone both."

Knowing that the Kree had spotted the children long before they'd hidden, Yondu stepped forwards. "Peter and Rhydian are with me Sheron."

Sheron smirked, "Peter and Rhydian… I wasn't aware you named your pets? Tell me… how did the 'feared' Captain Yondu come to adopt a baby slut and a Neanderthal?"

Yondu immediately tensed at this. Referring to Rhydian as a slut (due to the reputation of his race) and Peter as a Neanderthal (due to Terra being so behind the times), enraged him, but he knew he couldn't lash out…. Not with unspoken peace rule still in place. "They're just children…" he growled.

"And yet, we've all heard and seen what grown Terrans and &&**()&'s can do! War! Assassination!" Sheron shook his head, "I leave for a few years, and everyone seems to have forgotten my rules. Well, let me remind you… the Terran isn't too bad with good training, but the child &&**()& will turn into a fully grown &&**()& and they are DANGEROUS!"

Yondu could practically feel Rhydian shaking behind him as the child buried his face into the back of Yondu's legs…. Kraglin had also spotted this.

"What do ye know of rules?" hissed the first mate, ignoring Yondu's whispered commands for him to stand down, "Ye hunt for pleasure, kill for power! Ye have never followed 'rules'! The children are mine! Mine to protect, so go back to wherever ye came from ye burnt bastard!"

Slightly stunned by Kraglin's paternal instincts, Yondu pulled his first mate back to his side as Sheron snarled at them. "Sheron knows who truly runs this side of the galaxy…" sneered Yondu, referring to the many Ravager fractions that toured the galaxy, "… I'm sure he doesn't mean to come here and make threats…. Especially not during a truce."

Sheron growled, glancing around and frowning as the majority of the other aliens nodded in agreement with Yondu. Seeing that he was outnumbered, he shook his head. "I am, and always have been respectful…. But remember this. Nothing lasts forever…. Soon the rains will return to this jungle and there will be no need for us all to live in harmony. You may want to protect your little assassin now…. But ask yourselves this. How many lives is one &&**()& worth?"

Nobody could answer.

….

Sheron was right.

A couple of days later, the rains did return to the jungle and whilst the majority of the species on the other planets were unwilling to challenge the Ravagers, the crew knew that Sheron and any of his supporters wouldn't hesitate to come after Rhydian... and Peter to a lesser extent.

The Ravagers had to do something.

As Rhydian and Peter sat in the entrance to the ship, wet hair plastered to their heads as the rain continued to pour.

"What do you think they're talking about?" asked Peter, shielding his cassette player from the rain.

Shrug.

There were fights between the Ravager's all the time, but Sheron's threat divided the crew in half…. with some saying that Rhydian was just a kid and needed to stay with them…. Others said, 'drop the child off somewhere and leave him'. Let him be someone else's problem.

Knowing that this was a possibility, Rhydian pushed himself to his feet and headed into the street…. Straight for the bridge, where the meeting was being held.

"Rhydian…" hissed Peter, "… Rhydian, we're not meant to go in there!"

Stopping in his tracks, Rhydian turned and nodded in agreement, instead heading towards their room. Peter watched as his friend and brother grabbed a bag and started to stuff it with clothes, books and a few toys.

"What are you doing?"

Rhydian sighed, pulling the bag onto his shoulder. "I'm leaving…" he muttered, "… I won't have anyone getting killed because of me."

"B-but what about Kraglin?"

Rhydian's face fell as he turned away from Peter.

"The Ravager's will protect you! You know they will!"

"But I don't want them to!" Rhydian screamed, causing Peter to step back in shock, "I don't want them to die for me!"

"Boys?"

Peter and Rhydian span round as they heard a knock on the door, with Rhydian quickly shoving the bag towards Peter's bed, covering it with a blanket.

"Boys?" The door slid open and Kraglin sighed in relief, "Thank fuck. Are you two okay?"

Peter found that he could barely move as Rhydian nodded, a small, innocent smile on his face, which Kraglin returned…. Although he did seem to notice the tension.

"Listen…" he sighed, "… about Sheron. I don't want you two to worry about him, especially you Rhydian. Sheron is all talk."

He knelt in front of Rhydian and placed his hands on the child's shoulder. "Yer my son… both of you. Sheron will have to get through me before he'll ever hurt ye…. Yer safest here."

Rhydian was clearly unconvinced, but nodded anyway as Kraglin pulled him into a hug.

"I know yer both scared, but trust me…. Everything will be alright."

Pushing himself to a standing position, Kraglin gestured towards the beds, "Go on…. Get some sleep. We're going to set off tomorrow. Get as far away from this hell-hole as quickly as possible."

When he left and the door shut behind him, Peter quickly ran to his bed and grabbed the bag before Rhydian could. "You can't run away…" he hissed, "… you'd never make it! We're going away tomorrow, and then you won't need to run away!"

Silence.

Rhydian simply shrugged as he climbed into his hammock.

"Please Rhydian…. Don't run away."

…

"Something's wrong with the brats…" muttered Yondu, glaring at their backs as the two children hung around near the entrance to the ship, trying to help with the final leaving preparations., "… I can sense it."

"They're probably just stressed about yesterday…. For a couple of kids, they're holdin' up pretty well."

"No… it's something else."

"Hey boss!"

Yondu groaned under his breath when he heard Nilah's voice. Nilah was a Xandarian… and a cocky one at that.

"Why do we gotta leave so early?!" yelled the man, "Just leave the brats in the woods and let's get going! We ain't had a break in months and now those brats are ruining it! Captain, you need to- "

All it took was a sharp whistle for Nilah to stop in his tracks.

"I need to what Nilah?" hissed Yondu, "Because it sounded to me that yer tryin' to give me orders."

"I-I-I-"

"I am in charge… it's best you remember that."

Lowering the arrow, Yondu stepped forwards and raised his voice. "Alright, listen up!" he yelled, "Unless ye fuckers wanna face a bloodthirsty Kree, we ain't sticking around! Anyone who wants to stay and have their precious little holiday, can. Don't expect anything for yer funeral."

This seemed to get through to them, and the packing sped up. As everything was quickly shoved inside the ship, Rhydian and Peter raced over to Kraglin and Yondu.

"Are there any other planets like this one?" Peter asked eagerly, "Because me and Rhydian were thinking that- "

They stopped in their tracks when Yondu held up a silencing hand, his eyes focused on the jungle that surrounded the clearing. "Boys…" he hissed, "… I need ye to run to that ravine as fast as ye can."

Peter and Rhydian glanced at each other in confusion.

"What's going on?" asked Peter.

"Never ye mind brat. Get to the ravine and hide there… me and Kraglin will find ye."

"But- "

Before Peter could finish, there was a bellow from behind him and the Ravagers all began firing at the source…. a Kree that attempted to crush Rhydian beneath his hammer.

As the two children frantically ran away, they could hear Yondu's familiar whistle… and a bellow from Kraglin as he unsheathed his dagger and leapt at the Kree. Whilst they battled ferociously, Rhydian and Peter ran in the direction of a nearby ravine, desperately pushing themselves in an attempt to get to safety.

"Run boys!" yelled Yondu, who growled as Kraglin was knocked to the ground and Sheron went to pursue the children, "RUN!"

He didn't have to tell them twice.

With a speed they didn't think they possessed, the pair ran for their lives.

But Sheron was quicker.

From behind them, they could hear the Kree bellow once again…. and then there was the sound of stomping hooves and animalistic grunts.

Spinning around, the pair watched as Sheron was knocked to the ground by large, bull-like creatures that seemed to be having a rampage… and not stopping for anything.

"Come on!" gasped Rhydian, grabbing Peter's hand and dragging him towards the ravine.

Grunting in slight pain, the pair rolled down the wall of the ravine, straight into the mud and dirt. Ignoring how their clothes started to stick to them, the pair glanced up in alarm as they heard the rampaging herd slide down a slope into the ravine and continue their stampede.

Pressing back against the wall, they could see Sheron race to the edge of the ravine, scanning the chaos down below, clearly looking for the &&**()* that he despised so much.

"What do we do?" hissed Peter, clutching his headphones and he cowered against the wall, "What do we do?"

Sheron had spotted them, tightening his grip on the Warhammer.

However, before he could do anything, Rhydian tugged on Peter's hand, making a grabbing gesture with the other and pointing at the creatures.

"What?!"

The gesture was repeated as Rhydian rolled his eyes.

Peter could only watch in alarm as Rhydian edged closer to the stampede, clambering onto a rock (which gave him added height) and grabbing some horns as they thundered past.

"Rhydian!" Peter yelled, "Rhydian!"

But the other child was too far ahead to be seen.

"Grab a horn…" muttered Peter, keeping his eyes on the creatures, "… grab a horn. Grab a- WOAH!"

When one got close enough to the rock, Peter made a desperate grab… and managed to catch it as it raced past. As he wrapped his arms around the horn, Peter tightened his grip as they sped away from the ravine and Sheron…. And the Ravager's.

Eventually, after what seemed liked hours, the stampede came to a stop and the herd started to graze in an open field.

Climbing down from the creatures they were clutching onto, Rhydian and Peter rushed over to each other and glanced around.

"…What do we do now?"


	3. Chapter 3

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

"Yondu!" Kraglin cried out, trying to push himself to his feet as Sheron stormed over to them and pinned the Ravager Captain against a tree, covering the Centaurian's mouth.

"I didn't want it to be like this…" Sheron growled, "… I made it so simple for you thieves and ingrates to understand. I wanted the &&**()& boy and you all denied me!"

Keeping a tight hold of Yondu's face, ignoring how the Centaurian kicked, punched and pinched, Sheron turned his attention to the rest of the Ravagers. "Spread the word! Until that boy is in my hands, this jungle is mine! No-one leaves without my say so!"

The Ravager's clearly didn't want to follow those orders, but with their Captain being held as a hostage, they had very little choice.

Turning his attention to Kraglin, Sheron smirked. "You think you know fear…. You were wrong. Now, you will all know FEAR!"

…..

"I can't believe this…" mumbled Peter as he and Rhydian made their way through the dark marshy jungle that was near the open greens, "…. I'm muddy, cold, wet and tired. Where are we going?!"

Rhydian ignored him.

"We should have stayed where we were! Then Yondu and Kraglin would find us!"

Clearly fed up of the continuous chattering, Rhydian span around and plastered his hand against Peter's mouth, holding up a finger to his own and sshhing the other child as he glanced up.

The jungle they were climbing through was dark and damp, and vines hung down from the branches… they looked like snakes hanging down, ready to gobble them up if they got too close.

Renewed with a further sense of fear, Peter and Rhydian clutched at each other hands and crept across the marshy floor… only to stumble over something that had been half-covered with leaves and branches.

Glancing down, the pair quickly took a step back in horror.

"Rhydian…. Are there snake-like species that get rid of their skin when they grow?"

Nod.

"…. Are they friendly?"

Shake of the head.

"Great… we should get out of here."

Nod.

Cautiously, the pair stepped over the scaly skin, and continued on their way. A few minutes later, Rhydian noticed something high up in the trees, prompting him to nudge Peter in the side.

"What?"

Point to the tree.

Hanging from a branch, was a bunch of green and red objects, that looked like it may be some sort of fruit. Peter shot forwards eagerly, clambering towards the tree until they were directly under the 'fruit'.

"I'll give you a boost!" Peter exclaimed, gesturing at a upturned root, "Climb on that, and then onto my shoulders!"

Sceptical look.

"Yes, I think I can lift you! You're really skinny, now come on!"

After a slight struggle (and a few failed attempts), Rhydian eventually managed to grab the bunch and pluck them from the branch, just as Peter fell backwards, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Success!" cheered Peter in glee, quickly shooting to a seated position as Rhydian shuffled next to him, breaking the bunch apart and sharing it out.

A couple of minutes passed, before Peter caught something out of the corner of his eye.

"Rhydian look!"

Rhydian glanced over, frowning in confusion when he spotted what Peter had seen. Sitting a little over a metre away, was a small brown creature, with large ears and a bushy tail… and it was staring at them.

"It looks like a fox…" explained Peter, "… we had some who used to come in our yard back on Earth. Maybe it's hungry?"

Despite Rhydian silently gesturing for him not to do it, Peter shuffled closer to the creature and held out a piece of the food.

"It's alright…" whispered Peter soothingly, "… it's alright."

Suddenly, he heard Rhydian cry out in anger, prompting him to spin around and see Rhydian clambering up a tree after two more fox-like creatures, who had stolen the rest of the bunch whilst the pair's attention was on the distraction.

They easily got away.

Upon reaching a top branch in a thick tree, Rhydian span around and slapped Peter's shoulder, glaring at him.

"How was I meant to know they would steal our food?!"

Tapping the side of the head with a finger.

"Yes, I know I wasn't thinking…. It was a clever plan though. Maybe we should do that one day? You can talk to people, and I'll steal things off them!"

Rhydian only rolled his eyes, grabbing Peter's hand and pulling him further along the thick branch. For a few minutes, everything was fine…. Until they heard a hissing noise.

"Hello?" Peter called out, ignoring how Rhydian nudged him harshly in the side, "Who's out there?!"

"Hello children."

The voice seemed to come from all around them, echoing in the damp branches.

"Don't be scared…" continued the voice, "… I'm not going to hurt you."

Rhydian nudged Peter in the side again, encouraging his friend to look at him as he began to sign.

"We were only…. Passing through." Translated Peter, trying to remain calm, "We don't want any…. Trouble."

"There's no trouble…. Are you two alone out here?" A chuckle, "That's not good…. we should never be alone."

"W-we're waiting for our…. Dad and Papa." After translating this, Peter took a second to think about how calling Yondu and Kraglin his parents made him feel.

Funny…. It made him feel funny.

"T-they should be here soon."

"…. I'll wait with you until they get here." Cooed the voice, just as a reptilian figure emerged on a branch up above "Would that be alright?"

The figure was clearly female, dressed in skimpy clothing made of leaves. Her scales were a dark green, spotted with brown and black marks which probably made blending in easier. Her eyes were bright yellow as a forked tongue flickered out of her mouth.

"I'll keep you safe…. Just us three, sweet little boys."

As the pair huddled together, Peter kept his eyes on the snake woman. "W-who are you?!"

"You can call me…. Kali." She smiled at them, "Poor, sweet little boys…. What are you doing so deep in the jungle?"

"W-we got lost…. W-we were just visiting this planet!"

"Don't you know what you are…" she hissed, her eyes darting towards Rhydian, "… I can smell what you are."

In alarm, the pair quickly glanced at each other.

"Y-you can?!" stammered Peter as Rhydian pulled him back…. But despite this, he couldn't help but stare into Kali's eyes.

Kali smirked as Peter began to sway from side to side, "Yes…. Would you like know how?"

Peter just nodded as his surroundings began to swirl around him.

"&&**()&'s are a unique….delicious species…." Cooed Kali, smirking as Rhydian tried to drag Peter away, "Do you know why Sheron is so scared of you sweet thing?"

Making sure not to look Kali in the eyes, Rhydian shrugged as her chuckles echoed throughout the jungle.

"Because of the power you all hold over everyone else. One wink from a &&**()& and people will fall to their knees…. Which is usually when you'll strike the killing blow. That's what happened with Sheron…. He fell in love with a &&**()& whore…. Who'd been contracted to kill him."

Kali sighed, "Unfortunately for the assassin, Sheron spotted the burning poker before it impaled his skull… it only grazed his skin, causing burns on half his face. Despite the pain, he still managed to rip the &&**()&'s throat out."

Gulping, Rhydian brought his own hand up to his throat as Kali chuckled. "Now, he hates your kind…. No matter what the age or sex…. To him, you're all liars, whores and killers."

Now, much like Peter, Rhydian was transfixed…. Unaware of the tail that was tightening around them.

"Poor sweet children…" she cooed, "…. You're so scared, so alone. You can stay with me if you want… I'll keep you close…. Trust in me."

And the two children did…. Even as Kali unhinged her jaw, preparing to swallow them whole.

"Hey Bitch!" yelled an unfamiliar voice, catching Kali's attention as a blaster shot hit her in the back.

As she span around to face the unknown attacker, her tight grip on the pair loosened and they fell, limp and boneless off the branch and to the ground below. Just before they slipped into unconsciousness, they heard Kali scream out in pain…. And then;

Nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

"Shouldn't they be waking up soon?"

"I don't know…. They did fall a long way."

"What the hell are kids doing in that bloody jungle?!"

Surrounded by warmth, with a familiar presence at his side, Peter slowly stirred back to life, his eyes blinking open…. Only to see a man's face directly above him.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" he screamed, startling Rhydian awake, who immediately went on the defensive, lashing out at the figures standing above them.

"Woah kid!" cried out the male, quickly reacting and grabbing Rhydian's wrists, "Relax! There's no need to get all worked up!"

With Rhydian still on the offensive, Peter decided to retreat, backing up against the wall behind him. "Where are we!"

"Ummmm…. In a cave at the moment. Hence all the stone and cold, damp moss… you boys don't remember what happened do you?"

Calming down slightly, Rhydian shook his head, breathing heavily as he stared at the man.

"Well, I saved your lives! Snatched you from the jaws, no, the coils of death! You were lucky me and the ex -wife were passing by kids…. No big deal. One question though, can you two climb?"

Peter and Rhydian glanced at each other, before Rhydian slowly nodded.

"Excellent!" exclaimed the man, heading out of the cave with his silent partner following on behind him, "Then let's not waste any more time."

"Time for what?" asked Peter as they rushed to follow.

"Payback kid. Payback."

"Payback? Payback for what?!"

Outside the cave, the jungle looked very different, with flowers blooming all around and the sunlight beaming through the branches.

"You owe us kid…. And now you've got to do the right thing and help us back. That's how the world works."

They strode to the bottom of a cliff face, and the man gestured up at a yellow, humming object, that was lodged in a gap in the cliff. "You see that kids? That is a key part of my ship that me and my crew need to get off this hell-hole… so all you need to do is shimmy on up there, grab that thing and bring it back down here."

In unison, Peter and Rhydian glanced between the object and the strange man, until Peter raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding right?"

"Nooooo, not really."

Rhydian shook his head, and mimed being chocked, causing Peter to nod in agreement. "Yeah, he's right! We'll kill ourselves trying to do that!"

As the pair moved to walk away, the man reached out and gently grabbed their arms. "Kid, kid, kid, kid! See it from my point of view… if I don't get that piece of my ship, then me and my crew aren't going anywhere… and soon the life support is going to give out…. Do you really want to be responsible for my crew going to sleep, and never waking up?"

Rhydian and Peter glanced at each and groaned.

"Fine…." Sighed Peter, "… We'll try and get it for you."

The man nodded his thanks, "Excellent…. Although, I have a better idea than you climbing up there. I'll get you to the top of the cliff, and, using some vines, you can lower yourself down. You're light, the vines will hold your weight."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

…

"It's not coming loose!" Peter yelled up to the man, "We're not strong enough!"

"Keep trying kids! You're doing great!"

Rhydian and Peter glanced at other as they used sticks to try and knock the device free from the gap. As they were continuing on with this task, they missed the conversation at the top of the cliff.

("You do know who they are don't you? What they are?"

"Yes, I know dear, but they owe me."

"… And you're going to use them to get to him."

"… You know, this is why we got divorced in the first place… because of your ability to read minds.")

Unaware of the conversation (although they did hear a yelp from the top of the cliff), Rhydian and Peter abandoned the idea of using sticks and tried to tug the object out using their hands.

"Almost there!" Peter announced in glee, "Rhydian! You've gotta catch it alright!"

"Rhydian nodded, holding his hands underneath the hole in preparation as Peter gave it one final tug, crying out in success when it fell free, falling into Rhydian's hands.

"Way to go kids!" the man called down, "Hang on and we'll lift you up!"

…

"Here you go kids." The male handed over a couple of bowls of curry-like substance, "As thanks."

"Sooooo…. We're even now, right?" asked Peter

"Hold on now… what are your names? We weren't properly introduced after all."

"I'm Peter, he's Rhydian."

"… Is his tongue missing or something?"

Rhydian glared at the man as Peter shook his head. "No. He just doesn't like talking much."

The man nodded in understanding, "More people should be like that… the name's Stakar. The bundle of sunshine next to me is Aleta."

At the children's silence, Stakar sighed. "Look kids…. You're useful, and I could do with useful. What do ya say…. Wanna join my crew?"

"We're already part of a crew…" Peter exclaimed, "…. And we've got to get back to the ship."

"Oh…. Which ship?"

The two children quickly glanced at each other, silently debating whether or not to tell the truth.

"…. Yondu Udonta…" Peter finally stated, "…. We live on the same ship as Yondu."

"Yondu Udonta?!" Stakar seemed thrilled to hear this, shuffling closer to the children and scanning them from head to toe, "I know that name… didn't take him to be the fathering type."

Rhydian started to sign, angling his hands towards Peter so that his friend could translate. "Yondu's a good Dad…. Both him and Kraglin take good care of us."

"Alright, alright!" Stakar held up his hands in mock surrender, "Where is their ship?"

Peter and Rhydian both shrugged.

"It was near a ravine…" remembered Peter, "… the ravine led into a field that had this creepy wood all around them."

Stakar was silent, before he nodded, "I think I might know where you mean…. Me and Aleta will take you there ourselves."

"We will?"

Ignoring his ex, Stakar nodded, "Of course…. We can't let two children wander around these jungles alone!"

…..

Later on, as they walked through the jungle, Stakar glanced over at the pair, who had their heads bent over the orange headphones that had been around Peter's neck.

A catchy tune was coming out of the headphones, one that made the children smile and playfully bounce along.

"What's that you're listening to brat?" he asked, drawing their attention away from the music.

Peter grinned, "It's from my Mom's favourite film when she was a kid….The Jungle Book, have you ever heard of it?"

"Ummmmm- "

"- It's great! And this is one of the best songs from it…. Listen!"

Peter pressed a button on his musical device several times and now the music could be clearly heard;

"Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

Old Mother Nature's recipes

That brings the bare necessities of life

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam

I couldn't be fonder of my big home

The bees are buzzin' in the trees

To make some honey just for me

When you look under the rocks and plants

And take a glance at them fancy ants

And then maybe, well, try a few

The bare necessities of life will come to you

Looking for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

That's why a bear can rest at ease

With just the bare necessities of life

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam

I couldn't be fonder of my big home

The bees are buzzin' in the trees

Make some honey just for me

You look under the rocks and plants

And take a glance, fancy ants

Maybe try yourself a few

The bare necessities of life will come to you

Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

That's why a bear can rest at ease

With just the bare necessities of life

Wherever I wander, whenever I roam

I couldn't be fonder of my big home

The bees are buzzin' in the trees

To make some honey just for me

When you look under the rocks and plants

And take glance at the fancy ants

And maybe try a few, haha, try one

The bare necessities of life

They'll come to you

They have come to you"

Stakar nodded as the song came to an end, "Catchy. What does it mean?"

"Mom used to say it was a song about the good life. How the simple things in life, often make us the happiest."

"… She sounds like a wise woman."

Peter smiled sadly. "Yeah… she was."

…..

Eventually, the small group reached the field that the children had ended up in originally.

"Nearly there…" muttered Stakar, "… Yondu and that lot are expecting you, right?"

The pair (who were slowly falling behind) nodded as Peter yawned. "Yeah. Yondu said he'd meet us in the ravine when Sheron attacked."

"Ah, Sheron…. Not happy with having a &&**()& on the planet huh? Yeah, he's got a bone to pick with you lot."

"Because of his burns, yes we know."

"Yeah… it was his own fault really. &&**()&'s are tricky bastards, they shouldn't be trusted… no offense kid."

Rhydian shrugged. He'd never grown up with anyone of his own kind, so he had very little opinions on the matter…. Although he was sold into slavery as a baby, so his parents were obviously part of the bad bunch.

Coming to the beginning of the ravine, Stakar frowned. "It's getting a little dark… are you sure they said they'd meet you in the ravine?"

"Yeah…. Why?"

"Well… you would have thought that if you weren't in the ravine by the ship, then somebody would have walked down the ravine to try and find you…. But there's no-one here."

Rhydian and Peter glanced at each other, before frowning.

"So… what do we do?"

"You're asking me? Well, personally I would stay close to someone who could help you find Yondu again…. and possibly help this person with the finer details of ship repair?"

"… You want us to help you with your ship?"

Stakar held up his hands, "It's just a suggestion. Everyone knows who I am, so it shouldn't take long for Yondu to hear about it, and then he'll come and find you."

There was a brief silence, before Peter nodded. "Okay."

Despite Rhydian's clear dislike of the situation, Stakar beamed and started to walk back towards the forest. "Excellent, follow me!"


	5. Chapter 5

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

"Kraglin…"

Kraglin groaned and rolled over, curling into a small ball to try and conserve the warmth.

"Kraglin, wake up!"

Shooting into a seated position, Kraglin glared at Horuz. "What the fuck do- "He then stopped, glancing around the space and frowning, "… Where's Yondu?"

Horuz growled, "Sheron still has him… and he's asking for you."

Kraglin quickly pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his pants and boots, before heading out of the ship. As he raced towards where Sheron's resting place, he quickly got dressed along the way (making sure his knives were in their holsters).

As he got closer, he could hear Sheron talking to a clearly unhappy, and gagged Yondu. Yondu had been severely injured in the last fight… that was the only reason he was having trouble getting away from Sheron now.

Kraglin had to keep telling himself that.

"… the hacktoo is the one you have to look out for." Sheron mused, referring to a Kree bird, not dissimilar to a Terran cuckoo, "It only survives by preying on a mother's weakness. It sneaks its eggs into the nests of other birds, so that when it hatches, the mother bird raises that chick as its own…. Do you know what happens to its own chicks?"

Yondu's response was muffled swearing.

"They either get pushed out, or they starve and die from neglect, all because a mother…" Sheron then turned his attention to the oncoming Kraglin, "… loved a chick that wasn't their own."

The comment was clearly aimed at Kraglin and he and Yondu knew it.

"Piss off ye burnt fucker…" Kraglin snarled, "… why are ye doin' this? Those kids are missin', probably already eaten up in this fuckin' jungle… isn't that what you wanted?"

Sheron sneered at him, "I want that &&**()& dead by my hands…. Once he hears that his precious parents are mine to control, they'll come back… and I'll be waiting."

Kraglin ignored the shudder that went up and down his spine, before rushing back to the ship, grabbing Horuz on his way there.

"I need to find those bloody kids…" Kraglin sighed, "… you need to keep Sheron distracted enough, so he doesn't ask for me again."

"How are you going to find them?"

"… I'll just listen out for Peter's music."

…

"Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

Old Mother Nature's recipes

That brings the bare necessities of life!"

Stakar listened in amusement as the children busied themselves with fetching the necessary parts and bringing them to the engineers of his crew, with Peter singing along to his music as he went. Rhydian wasn't joining in, but he bounced along eagerly, a grin on his face.

"Wherever I wander, wherever I roam

I couldn't be fonder of my big home

The bees are buzzin' in the trees

To make some honey just for me

When you look under the rocks and plants

And take a glance at them fancy ants

And then maybe, well, try a few

The bare necessities of life will come to you"

Suddenly, there was movement in the bushes, causing the two children to dart behind something, clearly suspecting the worst.

Stakar's hand immediately flew towards his blaster, "Come out!" he ordered, "Come out, or I'll fire blindly, and I don't really give a shit if I hit your head!"

Silence.

Drawing his blaster, Stakar aimed at the bushes, "I'm going to count to three, and then I'll start firing. Three… two… O- "

Before Stakar could finish, a skinny humanoid emerged from the bushes, hands up in the air and a vicious smirk on his face.

"KRAGLIN!" "DADDY!" Peter and Rhydian yelled in joy, racing over to the skinny man, who fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around the children.

"Thank fuck…" Kraglin muttered in relief, "… thank fuck."

"We were looking everywhere for you!" Peter exclaimed, "Rhydian thought you were dead!"

As Rhydian hit Peter in the shoulder, Kraglin chuckled, holding them both out length and scanning them up and down. "Are you both alright?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah, we were so worried about you! We got lost and we didn't know what happened, and then we met Stakar and he saved us from a crazy snake lady and now we're all working together!"

Kraglin glared up at Stakar, "Really…. Don't sound like you Stakar. Yer've always been more the type to drop 'em and leave 'em." He pulled the children in for another hug, before getting to his feet, "C'mon brats, let's get goin'"

The two children twisted around to smile apologetically at Stakar, before following Kraglin further into the jungle.

"It's fine…" Stakar mumbled under his breath, "… go on without me."

As they wandered through the jungle, Stakar could hear the children (well, Peter) babbling to Kraglin.

"Don't be mad Kraglin!"

"Why would I be mad?"

Rhydian quickly signed something, and Peter nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you always get mad when we do something without telling you, so you gotta promise not to be mad this time!"

"Tell me, and I'll decide."

The two children grabbed Kraglin's hands, dragging him around and back to Stakar's ship (with Stakar rolling his eyes and muttering about 'having to walk backwards and forwards' before following them).

"Come and look!" The pair dragged Kraglin over to the engine part of the ship, "We've been helping Stakar fix his engine, just like how you taught us!" Peter then gestured at some of Stakar's crew, who were smirking at the trio, "They've been su-per-vi-…. They've been watching us!"

Kraglin glared at the sniggering group, knowing they were probably enjoying having the kids do all the … tight jobs. "I didn' teach you that much brat…" he then twisted around to glare at Stakar, "… have ye lost your fuckin' mind?!"

"You promised you wouldn't get mad Kraglin!"

Kraglin ignored Peter's protests and continued to berate Stakar. "They're children, and yer usin' them to do yer dirty work!"

"Kraglin…" Peter tugged on the back of Kraglin's jacket, "… Kraglin, we were helping him fix the engine!"

"He don't need a couple of kids to help! He's got his own bloody engineers to help him do it!" Kraglin snarled at Stakar.

"Well…" Stakar winced, "… there are some smaller areas which- "

"- Listen to me ye son of a bitch!" Kraglin interrupted, drawing a knife and holding it up near Stakar's throat, ignoring how the rest of the crew and Aleta tensed, "They may not know yer game, but I do! I'm leavin' and I'm takin' the kids with me!"

There was a brief moment of silence, before Stakar sighed and gave Kraglin an amused smile. "Now, let's all calm down and talk about this… it's getting dark soon, too soon for you to be traveling with two small children. We'll all get some sleep and talk about this in the morning."

Kraglin was silent for a few moments, before he growled and pulled the knife away from Stakar's throat. "Fine… but we're leaving first thing!"


	6. Chapter 6

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

It was still dark… why was he up when it was still so dark?

Rhydian rolled over, frowning when he saw Peter leaving the ship. Carefully extracting himself from Kraglin's grip, he raced over to his brother, grabbing his arm just as Peter was leaving the ship.

Peter span around, quickly reading the curious expression on Rhydian's face and beaming at him. "Don't you hear it?"

Listening out for a brief moment, Rhydian realised that he could hear the sound of another creature that resided in the jungles… sounded like a whole herd of them. After he nodded, Peter tugged at his arm and beamed. "C'mon! Let's go and see."

Frown.

"C'mon Rhy! We'll probably be leaving tomorrow, so this might be our last day to see anything cool!"

Rhydian thought to himself for a few moments, before rolling his eyes and letting go of Peter, following him outside, into the thick jungle beyond the clearing. They only had to walk for a couple of minutes before they came across another clearing, which had several large creatures surrounding a deep cavern in the centre of the field.

The creatures were clearly agitated, stomping their hooves and bellowing as they stared down into the cavern. When Peter and Rhydian made their way over to the edge and glanced down, their eyes widened in shock.

Peter turned to Rhydian and gestured back in the direction of the first clearing. "Get the rope! You're quicker and quieter than me!"

Nodding, Rhydian sprinted back to Stakar's camp, creeping into the ship and grabbing the ropes they once used to fetch Stakar's piece of engine.

Unfortunately, as he raced back to where the creatures were waiting, he failed to see a figure watching him leave.

…

Kraglin often hated his 'parent hearing', waking him up every time he sensed something was wrong with Rhydian… and now Peter.

It was useful sometimes though.

"Damn brats." He muttered as he watched Rhydian hand one end of the rope to Peter, before scaling down into the cavern.

"Where are they?"

Flinching slightly as Stakar suddenly appeared behind him, Kraglin gestured at Peter. "Rhydian's in the pit."

"What?"

Kraglin span around and glared at him, "They doin' this because of you?"

"Oh, come on! You really think I'd be teachin' 'em to mess around with oliphants?!"

The pair watched as Peter gave Rhydian a thumbs up, before handing the rope to an adult Oliphant, gently encouraging it to pull. It took a minute, but eventually the adult started to pull…. And then a baby came crawling out of the pit, rope around it's middle and Rhydian scrambling up behind it.

Once the rope was untied from the infant and it was safe with its parents, Peter and Rhydian made their way back to Kraglin and Stakar.

"Hey." Peter greeted yawning and waving at the pair, "We're going back to bed now."

Rhydian nodded in agreement, giving his Dad a soft smile before following Peter back to the ship.

As they went, Stakar turned to Kraglin and grinned, "Those kids are special, I'm telling you… special."

"I know they're special…. I'm raisin' 'em."

Without another word, Kraglin followed the two children.

"And yet, Sheron is now after them!" Stakar called out to them, "Not very good parentin' that is it?!"

With a snarl, Kraglin span around and glared at him. "We didn' know Sheron was going to be here! We didn' know he'd dare attack us! And now he's got the Captain as his hostage and keeps babblin' on about killing Rhydian like an unwanted pest!"

Stakar frowned at this, "Yondu's been captured?!"

"Yeah… and he'll stop at nothin' until he has Rhydian. Nothin'!" Kraglin then seemed to deflate, "I know they promised to help and shit, but we need to get off this planet now!"

Without allowing Stakar to reply, Kraglin stormed off, leaving the Captain behind to ponder his words.

….

"Stay still!" Kraglin ordered, as he scrubbed Rhydian's face (having gotten dirty in his rescue mission), "How the bloody hell do you always get this fuckin' filthy?!"

Rhydian squirmed unhappily, glaring at Peter as the other child sniggered.

Stakar also seemed to find this amusing, although he couldn't help but feel slightly impressed at the memory of the rescue. "You kids are pretty clever…" he eventually spoke up, "… I've never seen anyone get that close to an Oliphant."

Peter beamed at the praise, the beam only growing when Kraglin nodded in agreement.

"It was impressive…" Kraglin sighed, "… maybe if we ever come back 'ere, ye can show Yondu, huh?"

The two children seemed to deflate at the mention of Yondu, with Peter nervously speaking up. "I-Is he okay?"

There was a brief moment of silence, before Kraglin nodded. "He's fine… just waitin' for ye to come back so we can leave."

"And Sheron?"

"Forget about Sheron… let's just go."

The two children seemed reluctant, glancing at each other until Kraglin finally cracked. "What is it?"

"… Can we climb that tree one more time?"

Kraglin glanced up at the tree, rolling his eyes when he saw the number of climbable branches on it. "Do you really have to- "

"- Yeah!"

"…."

"Please!"

Kraglin was silent for a few more seconds, before throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. "Fine! But- "

He didn't get to finish, as the pair raced towards the large tree and scrambled up it, laughing as they went.

"Rhydian's a nimble little thing…." Stakar mused, moving to stand next to Kraglin, "… Look at him shooting up there!"

"And that's why we make 'im clean the vents."

….

"Yeah, yeah…" Peter rolled his eyes, "… you win, again!"

Rhydian simply smirked at him, laughing as Peter punched him in the arm, and sat next to him. For a couple of minutes, they sat there in silence, watching as Stakar and Kraglin talked down below, before Kraglin followed the older man into the ship (although not without giving the two children a reassuring smile).

"What dis den?"

The pair turned to the side, frowning as a tiny, white-haired girl sat next to them, fangs peeking out and her eyes a bright yellow, standing out against her dark skin.

"What wrong wid you?"

The two children shuffled away as the girl hopped closer, her eyes focused on Rhydian.

"Pretty &&**()&… pretty, pretty, pretty."

She smirked, before clicking her fingers. Seconds later, hands dropped down from the higher branches and grabbed the two children from under their arms, lifting them up and passing them along.

"KRAGLIN!" "DADDY!"

…..

"When are you going to tell them that Yondu's hurt and a hostage?" Stakar growled, "They're gonna find out eventually."

Kraglin winced, but Stakar continued.

"How are you even plannin' to get 'em off the planet? Sheron will notice you tryin' to sneak them on board!"

"We'll figure it out, just- "

"KRAGLIN!" "DADDY!"

The pair raced outside to see the two children being carried away by over a dozen choux'uakhoe's, a small, species that resided on jungle-like planets… they operated very much like a gang, and where there was a gang, there was a leader pulling all the strings.

"RHYDIAN! PETER!"

"DADDY!"


	7. Chapter 7

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favourite films ever, and I loved the sequel (even if I cried a little bit…. Okay, a lot), however my favourite pairing of Kragdu doesn't have much of a fic-base… so I decided to expand it.

This series will mostly revolve around Peter and his OC brother getting raised by the grumpy duo, so the Guardians won't make an interest until much further on in the series.

I hope you enjoy it, and please read and review ?

…

"DADDY!"

Kraglin watched in dismay as the choux'uakhoe's carried the two children away, groaning when the blaster shots from Stakar and his crew only seemed to encourage the long-limbed species to move faster.

"Where the bloody hell are they taking them?!" Stakar growled in frustration, practically throwing his blaster to the ground, "What could they possibly want with two children?!"

Kraglin didn't say a word, racing off after the kidnappers, closely followed by Stakar.

The children continued to cry out for Kraglin, prompting Stakar to try and reassure them. "We can see you! We can see you!"

Kraglin didn't say a word, focusing on the children as he continued to run forwards… until he came across the raging river that was way too fast, and way to wide for him to wade across.

Not that it was actually going to stop him.

Before he could even think about trying to jump across, an arm came around his waist as Stakar smirked at him. "Keep your knives to yourself and maybe this'll be over quickly."

"… I hate you."

Using a grappling gun, Stakar swung the pair across the river and the chase continued.

And then came the cliff.

The choux'uakhoes' clambered up the rocky cliff side easily, leaving Kraglin and Stakar behind.

"SHIT!"

…..

Peter and Rhydian yelped as they were thrown onto the cliff ledge, scratches in their clothes from the sharp claws of the choux'uakhoes'.

In the distance, they could see a large stone temple, only moving forward when they were pushed in the back.

…

"I'll take it from here." Kraglin growled, pulling various knives out of their sheathes in order to climb the cliff.

"You're not leaving me here…" Stakar glanced up at the cliff face, "… I can do it... probably."

Kraglin smirked at this, clearly hearing the nerves in Stakar's voice. "Alright… follow me then."

"Yeah… yeah alright then."

….

As they were forced into the stone temple, Peter and Rhydian gripped each other hands as Peter leaned in.

"We gotta be like Yondu… they won't mess with us if we're like Yondu."

….

"A bird…" Stakar groaned, "… that can't be a good sign!"

"Stop whinging and climb!"

"They're circling! It's a sign of certain death!"

"Yeah! Because if you don't stop complainin', I'm goin' to push you!"

…

Rhydian and Peter winced at the carvings of conquest and murder on the walls of the Temple.

In the centre of the Temple, there were piles upon piles of… well, it looked like rubbish to them, but on a planet like this, it was possible that they were considered treasure to these lot.

For example, there was a rusted bell-like object on top of one of the piles, which Peter couldn't resist.

"It's a cow bell…" he explained to Rhydian, "… my Grandpa used to tie these to our cows' necks. Listen."

However, when he shook it, the bell was so badly rusted, that there was no sound.

"Awwww."

And then they noticed the giant hand, reaching out to grab some of the food that was lying on the ground.

"Where you from kids?"

The figure was still shrouded in shadows, with only one hand truly visible.

"Where you from?"

"Ummm…" Peter ignored how Rhydian shook his head, "… Earth? I am anyway."

"Earth… it's beautiful there I hear." There was a brief pause, before the figure spoke up again, "You ever tried the Paw-Paw fruit?"

"Huh?"

The figure threw some fruit to the ground, "I call it that because of the sound it makes when it hits the ground… try it."

The pair slowly picked up a fruit each, taking a bite and humming at the sweet taste.

"It's good…" Peter mumbled in confusion, "… Ummm- "

"- You kids know who i am?"

"No?"

"I am the leader of this little gang you see before you…" the man leaned forwards, indicating just how tall and wide he really was, "… but you two cuties can call me Louis."

….

"I can't believe I made it…" grunted Stakar as they reached the top of the cliff, "… I can't fucking believe it!"

"Yeah, yeah, go you…" Kraglin glanced at the stone temple, "… they must be in there, follow me."

"Oh no, now that the hard part is over, I'm in charge… and I have a plan."

When Stakar strode past him, Kraglin cursed at him from under his breath, twirling a knife in between his fingers as he followed on.

…..

"He's from Earth, which makes you the &&**()&."

"How do you know about Rhydian?"

Louie chuckled, "Kids, I got ears. My ears got ears…. You boys need protection, and I'm willing to give you that protection for a price."

Glancing at Rhydian in confusion, Peter shook his head. "We don't have anything!"

"Oh… I think you boys do. You have yourselves, don't you?"

"What?"

Louie waved his hand in dismissal, "Well you Earthling are not so important… the &&**()& however, now he is important. Think about it! My own assassin doing my bidding, getting rid of my enemies in return for protection for him and his brother… perfect ain't it?"

"No!" Peter growled, "It's not! We need to get back to Yondu! Not stay here!"

"YOU DON'T GOT NO CHOICE KID!"

"Excuse me!"

Everyone twisted around as Stakar and Kraglin entered the Temple, Stakar with his hands raised in the air.

"Excuse me! Are we in the right temple?!" Stakar then paused and smirked at Louie, "You must be the head honcho in here, right?"

Louie stared at him for a moment, before clicking his fingers. "Seize him." He ordered his minions, who all swarmed Stakar.

"Oh, come on!" Stakar fired his blaster several times to dissuade them from getting any closer, "I've just climbed a cliff for this, without a grappling hook I might add!"

"Throw him off the side of the cliff!"

As Stakar continued to protest, nobody noticed Kraglin slipping into the shadows and making his way to the side of Louie, where the two children could see him. Once he caught their eyes, he silently gestured for them to make their way over to him… and quickly.

Peter and Rhydian slowly did as they were told, casting nervous glances at Louie as they slowly shuffled to the side. Once they were right next to Kraglin, the Ravager silently indicated that they should remain quiet as they made their way out of the Temple.

And then a choux'uakhoe spotted them.

"Kidnapper!" She screamed, "Kidnapper!"

As Kraglin grabbed the children and raced for the door, Stakar finally managed to break free, quickly backing away. "You know what, I'm going to show myself out!"

"NO-ONE LEAVES!"

As they reached the entrance of the Temple, Kraglin placed the children back on the ground and encouraged them to keep running. "We'll hold them off! Keep going!"

Making sure that the children were doing as they were told, Kraglin and Stakar turned to face the oncoming hoard.

And then Louis came out of his hangout.

"Fuckin' hell…" Kraglin swore, staring up at the mammoth of a man, "… who were his parents? A giant and a baer'ut?!"

"I'd prefer not to think about that!"

As the two adults were distracted by the choux'uakhoe, Peter and Rhydian desperately tried to find a hiding place… one good enough to shield them from Louis's view.

Until Louis suddenly appeared at the other side of the exit.

"Where you going, kids?"

"Get away from us!"

Louis smirked, "There's no way you can be safe, not without my protection. Where can you go and be safe, aside from here?"

"Back to Yondu! He'll protect us!"

At Peter's answer, Louis's s smirk only seemed to grow. "Didn't you hear kid? Sheron's got him… holding him hostage until you two go back… where he can kill you &&**()&."

"LIAR!"

When Louis darted forwards, Peter and Rhydian ran for it, zipping around the stone pillars and diving into cubby holes in order to try and get away from the much larger man.

"Listen to reason boys!" The man called out, "If Sheron has Yondu, he won't hesitate to use him to get to you. One shot and he could blow that pretty head off &&**()&!"

The two children just kept running, quickly spotting a window large enough for them to jump out of.

"Jump!" Rhydian ordered Peter, "We need to jump!"

"What?!"

"JUMP!"

Together, they leapt out of the window and into the trees outside, just as a giant hand tried to grab them. Unfortunately for Louis, his massive size crashing into the cracked pillars sent shock waves throughout the entire Temple as rocks started to fall and the south corner of the Temple collapsed… right on top of Louis.

And for all that they knew… on top of Rhydian and Peter.

"PETER! RHYDIAN!"


	8. Chapter 8

"PETER! RHYDIAN!"

As the choux'uakhoe all swarmed towards the rubble, throwing rocks and pebbles aside in order to try and find their boss, Stakar and Kraglin both clambered over the rubble, looking for a couple of bodies of their own.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Stakar cursed, "I can't believe this!"

"RHYDIAN! PETER!"

"KRAGLIN!"

Turning his attention to one of the taller trees that surrounded the crumbling temple, Kraglin sighed in relief, "RHYDIAN! PETER! STAY THERE! WE'LL COME AROUND TO YOU!"

As Kraglin scrambled up the rocks and rubble, Peter called down to him again.

"IS IT TRUE?!"

"…. What?"

"HAS YONDU REALLY BEEN CAPTURED?!"

Kraglin winced, taking a small step back, "I was going to tell you!" he called out, "

"YOU KNEW?!" Peter his head in dismay, "You both knew! And you didn't do anything about it! You could have saved him!"

The kids moved back along the branches, away from Kraglin and Stakar.

"Kid, hold on!" Stakar begged, frowning when Peter and Rhydian shook their heads.

"No!" Rhydian cried out, with Peter continuing.

"Someone's gotta do something!"

Within seconds, the pair of them were gone, scrambling down the tree and down the rocks and rubble, running into the distance as Kraglin and Stakar were left behind.

Night came fast, and as they ran up a nearby hill, the pair spotted a bright light in the distance… fire.

Not from where the Ravager ship was…. No, this was far away from there.

Moving a little closer, the pair crouched in the bushes, watching as the fire roared high into the sky, several shadowy figures standing all around it.

"Do you think… they're like you?" Peter asked, "Or maybe they're Ravagers?"

Rhydian shook his head at the second statement, his eyes wide as the figures all started whooping and cheering in an unheard language.

"Rhydian, what do we do?"

Silence.

"Rhydian?"

Silently, Rhydian urged Peter to stay where he was, before moving closer and closer to the fire and the unknown people.

"Rhydian? Rhydian!"

When there was no reply, Peter hunkered down in the bushes, trying to keep calm as the sound of wild animals echoed through the night. Less than ten minutes later, Rhydian was back… carrying a lit piece of wood.

"Rhydian… what are you doing?"

Rhydian just smirked, before headed off in the distance, moving away from the camp.

"Rhydian? Rhydian!"

Suddenly Rhydian stopped in his tracks, and span around, "We're going to stop Sheron."

He then broke off into a run, closely followed by Peter.

Neither of them noticed that smouldering pieces of the torch dropped down to the leaf-covered ground, small flames flickering up.

…

"There's no sign of them!" Kraglin cursed, peering over the edge of a cliff, "Where could they have gone?"

Night was falling fast, and without a safe place to sleep, the children would be dead by the morning.

And then they spotted the glowing light moving through the trees.

"Tell me that's not who I think it is."

"It is… and I know where they're going."

….

"Fire! Fire!"

Sheron glanced up at the choux'uakhoe leaping from branch to branch over-head, frowning in concern. The choux'uakhoe had never been worried about campfires before…. Unless it wasn't a campfire.

Spinning around to face the direction the choux'uakhoe came from, Sheron's eyes widened in alarm at the sight of the smoke rising high above the trees.

And then he spotted the glowing light coming closer.

"SHERON!" Rhydian cried out at the top of his lungs, pulling away from Peter, who looked terrified, "COME ON THEN! IF YOU'RE SO AFRAID OF ME?!"

Only slightly conscious, Yondu watched in alarm as Sheron stepped forwards, almost ten times the height of his sons

"So you do speak…" Sheron hissed, "… and I'm not scared of you… it might not be the same for everyone else though." He gestured behind Rhydian, watching as the child turned around and gasped at the sight.

Almost the entire jungle was up in flames, the smoke rising high into the sky.

"Such a proud day when a &&**()& comes into his own for the first time… like a true little assassin." Sheron continued to pace around, "You might have been able to fool these… simple men, but you can't fool me. I'm the one who saw your future… I'm the one who saw what you'd become."

Everyone could see how Rhydian's face fell, his eyes darting to the fire in his hands.

"Come on then…" Sheron hissed, "… use it. Use it on me, give into your hate… give into your basic instincts! Show everyone what you really are!"

There was a brief moment of silence, before Rhydian snarled and throw the fire torch away, watching as the orange films were extinguished by the sodden mud. "I'm not going to be like them! I'm a Ravager! Through and through!"

Sheron glanced over at the extinguished torch, before smirking, "That was the stupidest thing you could have done… now you have nothing. Just a foolish little brat. A tiny Captain without a crew. Without anybody to help."

Apparently, Peter didn't count.

"Who says he ain't got anyone to help?" From out of the crowd, Stakar stepped forwards, slowly followed by Kraglin, the other Ravagers, and even the aliens who lived on the planet.

"You'd protect this &&**()&?!" Sheron snarled in anger, "You'd all stand against me?!"

As Sheron charged forwards, Stakar rushed to meet him, trying to force the Kree back, only for the Kree to pin him against the ground, a hidden dagger finding it's way through the weak spots in Stakar's armour and into his chest.

"NO!"

Yondu, from his weakened state on the ground, spat out some blood and cleared his throat. No matter how he felt about Stakar, nobody attacked a fellow Ravager. "RAVAGERS! ATTACK!"

As the Ravagers all charged forwards, blasters at the ready, Rhydian and peter moved to join them, only to be grabbed by the back of their collars and flung to the ground.

"Stay there!" Kraglin ordered.

"But we want to fight!" Peter protested, as Rhydian nodded in agreement.

"No… we're the distraction. You boys are going to be the killing blow."

And with that, Kraglin was gone, joining in on the fight. Rhydian grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him back towards the burning jungle.

"I hope you've got a plan!"

…

Sheron growled as he was pestered by the Ravagers. None of them were close to him long enough for him to properly lay into them and they knew it.

It was just taunting now.

Just as the skinny whore of Yondu's leapt at him, Sheron spotted the two children racing towards the fire.

They could not be allowed to escape.

Charging past the attacking Ravagers, Sheron raced after the children, cursing as he was tackled to the ground. Defeating Yondu's little pet was simple… but the man had been a pain in his neck since the beginning.

"I think it's time I put an end to this." He hissed, heavily pinning the skinny man to the ground, one large boot on the other man's head.

Prime position for squishing.

Before he could bring his foot down heavily, there was a sharp whistle, before an arrow shot through his shoulder.

"GET AWAY FROM MY FIRST MATE!"

…..

Peter and Rhydian shot through the burning forest, until Rhydian stopped suddenly and pointed to something in front of him. When Peter followed the finger, he instantly knew what the other boy was referring to.

"A dead tree." He then turned to Rhydian, "You do have your knife, right?"

Knowing that the Ravagers wouldn't be able to hold Sheron back for long, they both scrambled up another tree, working to cut some of the vines free. Just as they finished, Sheron came charging through the burning bushes and started to clamber up the tree after them.

"Come on!" Wrapping the vines around themselves, they scurried across the branches, closely followed by Sheron.

"It's just you and me now kid!" He called out to them, as they jumped across to another tree, "Nowhere to run!"

However, as he stepped out onto the weaker branches, they shook and creaked underneath him. Sheron couldn't risk going out even further, least he fall into the flames down below.

Sheron jumped back down, and disappeared from view, leaving Peter and Rhydian to clamber over to the dead tree, breaking off a branch and tying one end of the vine to it, wrapping and tying the rest of the vines to the hollowed-out tree. Once that was done, they started to climb inside the dead tree, slowly moving down until they could see the swinging branch.

Suddenly, Sheron was right up in their faces, a dagger swiping out at them and catching Rhydian across the chest, ripping through his clothes and only barely scraping the surface of the skin. The pair yelped and pressed themselves up against the bark, trying to angle themselves away from a furious Sheron, who continued to swipe at them.

"THERE'S NOWHERE TO RUN BOYS!" Sheron screamed as the pair climbed higher into the tree, speeding up when Sheron clambered up after them. Eventually, they reached a branch, cautiously making their way across it.

As Sheron started to make his own way across, he snarled at them, "Did you really think I would let you grow up &&**()&?" He soon stopped however, as the branch creaked warningly under him, his eyes widening at the sight of the flames down below. "Either I'll kill you, or the fire will! It's only a matter of time! How long did you really think you'd last against me?! Longer than that slut did? Longer than your precious Papa did? Useless without his arrow, ain't he?"

Rhydian slowly turned around to face him, glaring at Sheron. "I'm not afraid of you! Do you hear me?! I'm done running from you!"

Sheron snapped, lunging at the children just as the pair leapt out, grabbing the make-shift rope swing, the branch snapping underneath Sheron's weight. With a bellow of fear, he fell down to the flames down below and everything fell silent.

"So… what do we do now?"

….

"Peter!" Kraglin called out through the rain, "Rhydian!"

Silence.

The fires were finally out because of the sudden downpour, but the damage was still obvious.

"Peter! Rhydian!"

Yondu watched his partner in silence, weakly pushing himself to his feet to try and pull Kraglin away, to try and tell him that it was over.

As he reached him though, Kraglin spotted something in the distance, eyes so much more accustomed to the dark than Yondu's ever were and ever would be. He raced forwards, falling to his knees in the dirt and soot as two smaller figures ran into his arms.

As Yondu slowly made his way over, all three glanced up at him, blood and soot smeared all over their faces.

"Good boys…" he whispered, keeling down and ruffling their hair, "… good boys."

…

"Boys! Get yer asses down here or we'll leave without you!"

The only reply he got was giggling from the high branches.

"They never fuckin' listen." As Yondu groaned at the pain from previous injuries, he leaned against the ship, rolling his eyes as Kraglin smirked at him, "Yer encouraging them!"

"Yep."

"… You shouldn't!"

"Well I am, wotcha gonna do about it."

"…. I still have those special handcuffs."

Before Kraglin could say anything, another voice interrupted.

"Well, I didn't need to know that."

Slowly, Yondu turned to Stakar and glared at him. "Ain't you gone yet?"

"No, not yet." Stakar chuckled, "I thought we could have a little talk first."

"Anything you say to me, you can say in front of Kraglin."

Stakar didn't seem fussed by this, nodding slightly at the skinnier man in some show of respect before turning his attention back to Yondu, "Yer raising a really good pair of kids there." He chuckled, watching as Rhydian and Peter jumped to another tree, "I know we didn't exactly part in the best of circumstances, but- "

He stopped as Yondu scoffed, smiling gratefully as Kraglin placed a calming hand on his Captain's shoulder.

"- You know as well as I do, that what you were doing was wrong." Stakar took a deep breath, "But… you seemed to be learning from your mistakes, so I'm willing to let you back into the Ravagers on a probational basis."

Yondu's eyes widened in shock, "What?"

"You can have the benefits that come with being a Ravager…. But you put one toe out of line, and yer out for good. No coming back. Besides…" Stakar smirked, "… I wanna get to know my grandkids."

"So you can teach 'em how ta gamble?"

"Course."

"… Fair enough."


End file.
